Incipient
by Linnea7299
Summary: After a car accident, Inui is left to raise his young son alone. However, in the same turn of fate he is reunited with Kaidoh, and maybe what his wife said to him the night before wasn't so far from the truth after all...InuKai. Rating subject to change.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello… Um… I'm very nervous about this fic… so… please… enjoy? I'd like to thank the lovely Xx The Grey Lady xX for being my beta and holding my hand through writing in this unfamiliar genre…

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, to my disgruntlement…

Pairings: InuiKaidoh, InuiOC, OishiKikumaru, TezukaFuji, TezukaOC, MomoshiroEchizen

Warnings: I dun want to give it away… : / Character death (noncanon character) in this part, that's it.

—

"You don't love me."

Inui frowned. He couldn't see her, but his wife's voice was resigned. He could tell she was smiling sadly.

She smoothed the pads of her fingers over his eyebrow, making it relax.

"Aiko…"

"Shh…" She exhaled. Her breath hit his chest, head tilted down. There was a faint bark of laughter in her words. "You don't have to say anything. I know you don't love me. And…" She shrugged. "I'm okay with that."

There. That was more like Aiko.

"I knew from the beginning that you weren't in love with me, Sadaharu. I thought you would come to, though. Because I loved you. I still do."

He could hear the confusion trickle into her tone.

"But… There's always been someone else you've been hung up on. Knowing you, you probably don't even know who it is."

He could tell she was a little offended by that. "Aiko—"

She put a finger to his lips. "You don't have to explain. Look, I'll get the divorce papers at work tomorrow and we'll go from there."

"Aiko, I don't see why we need to be so rash," Inui brought his hand up to push the locks of hair he knew had fallen across her face behind her ear. Aiko blocked the hand with hers. He frowned again. "What about Naoki?"

"Haru, I won't stay married to a man that doesn't love me."

"And Naoki?"

"If we stay like this, we might start to hate each other. I would rather separate now and not put him through a messy divorce later when he'll actually remember it…"

There was a long pause.

"Sadaharu…"

"Hm?"

"Would you hold me?"

Inui pulled the woman firmly to his chest without another word, tangling their legs together and curling an arm around her waist. He stroked her hair comfortingly.

"Aiko, even if I don't love you… I still… care about you… very much." He kissed the top of her head.

Inui woke up to the smell of coffee and the sound of muffled whining. He got up and padded down the hall to his son's room. As he picked up the stirring child he noticed the shower was on in the next room. It amazed him how much his hearing had tuned in to his child since Naoki had been born.

A garbled syllable brought his attention back to the crib. Dark eyes shined up at the man.

"Come on. Let's get your diaper changed." Inui lifted Naoki out of his crib and set him atop the changing table. He unsnapped the onesie and removed the soiled diaper, replacing it with a new one. The onesie was snapped back into place, and he balanced the baby on his hip as he walked back down the hall to the kitchen.

Naoki's bottle, made the night before and taken out of the fridge, was put in the microwave while Inui poured a cup of coffee. As he got Naoki situated with his bottle, Inui was quite thankful the boy was almost a year old and could hold it on his own now; having to feed him was yet another thing to do before they all left the house.

Inui picked up the coffee mug and started down the hall. Aiko, who had finished doing her hair and makeup and was standing outside the bathroom door in her robe, held her hand out to take her son and raised her voice an octave.

"How's my baby boy? Did he sleep well?" Inui pressed the cup of coffee into her other hand and went into the bathroom.

Naoki continued to suck down his bottle as he sat on his parent's bed. His mother's now half empty coffee mug sat on the dresser a short distance across the room. Aiko finished buttoning her top and smoothed her skirt before picking the baby up again. The next spot the ten month-old was deposited was his high chair, where a handful of dry cereal was placed in front of him.

Aiko placed her empty coffee cup in the sink and put another next to the pot before she snagged her son's day bag to make sure she didn't need to replace anything she didn't already know about. A new snack, bottles, and diapers were tucked into their places, as well as a fresh onesie and socks. Naoki babbled from his chair loudly, and she smiled. Inui fluffed his son's hair as he passed them on their way to get the baby dressed for the day, on his way back to his bedroom.

They met at the front door, Aiko toting their fully dressed son and Inui gulping the last of his morning dose of caffeine so he could take the baby while she put on her coat. Naoki was passed from his dad to his mom after Aiko had donned her coat and purse. Inui took the keys off the table and opened the door for her, straightening the strap to Naoki's diaper bag with the hand that wasn't holding the keys and his wife's briefcase.

She put Naoki in his car seat, and Inui put the bags in on the other side. They crossed paths for the last time that morning in front of the car, each going to their respective sides. Inui started the car.

Inui glanced at his wife as they pulled out of their apartment complex's parking lot. She was rifling through her purse looking for something. Her bottom lip stuck out in an irritated pout. Inui smiled at that.

His wife wasn't the most beautiful or the best housewife, but she was sensible and practical and hardworking. As her brow furrowed in anger, he added stubborn to that list. She kept her dark hair short and manageable, so that curious little fingers wouldn't be too interested in pulling it, but long enough that a few pieces usually fell into her dark eyes. She was slim, without much in the way of either breasts or hips, and quite small compared to his long gangly frame.

Neither of them were big on talking, but both loved facts and figuring things out. For Aiko this meant occasionally tearing into a witness in the courtroom; for Inui it was telling some pompous CEO of this or that big drug company why their product wouldn't work and how they could fix it with a sadistic grin. They both knew each other inside and out. They were comfortable with each other.

And that, Inui supposed, was the problem.

He took a hand off the steering wheel to push his glasses back into place and put a bit of pressure on the gas pedal as the light changed colors.

—

This time, when Inui woke up, it was to a nasty throbbing in his head, rather than the scent of the coffee Aiko had started before she got in the shower and the sounds of his son playing quietly in his crib.

He blinked, bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes. Why was it so blurry?

"Sir, please don't move. We have to finish this x-ray!" A young woman in scrubs came out of what Inui was realizing was the booth from which x-rays were taken.

"What happened?" Inui asked her.

"You were in a car crash, Inui-san. Do you not remember?"

Inui swallowed and shook his head, quickly bringing his hands up to steady his head, and thus the spinning room, seconds after.

"Inui-san, please stay still. This is the last x-ray we need to take, and then we'll take you back to your room."

"Where is my wife? And my son?" His mind was running a mile a minute as he tried to get a grasp on the situation.

"I'm not sure, sir. Would you like for me to go find out?"

Inui nodded, slowly. He realized that even if he told them he wasn't hurt that they would still make him get the x-ray. They were just doing their jobs…

The x-rays were finished and he was taken back to the small curtained-off ER "room."

Inui laid in his bed for ten minutes before a different nurse came in and said that aside from some bruising and a slight concussion he would be fine.

"My wife, and my son… Could I see them?"

"I'm not sure where your wife is, but the little boy who came in with you seemed to be okay. He was conscious. They took him to the children's wing. I could escort you up if you'd like. You're the last patient I needed to check on before my break." She initialed a box on the clip board attached to Inui's bed.

"Thank you," he paused to look at her ID tag, "Seisha-san."

She helped him up, making sure he didn't get tangled into the IV lines, and led him down the hall to the elevator. They went up two floors and down three different halls before they nearly passed a room with a viewing window where almost twenty young children played in a room with several nurses.

Inui grabbed his nurse's arm. "Naoki is in there." He tapped the glass. The tap made his son, who was being rocked back and forth by a nurse, look up and change from sad and droopy to happy almost instantly. The nurse glanced at the little boy in his arms and turned to see what he was looking at, making the baby squirm in his arms.

Inui could hear the little boy squeal "Dada!" through the glass. It made him smile.

"Inui-san, the door is over here." Inui looked to his right to see his nurse opening a door for him to enter.

Only when Inui had his son safely in his arms did he pay the nurse that had been with the baby any mind at all.

"Kaidoh?"

"Inui-sempai? I didn't think…" He gestured at Naoki. "Didn't know…"

Inui had to smile at the social awkwardness that it seemed Kaidoh had never grown out of. "It's good to see you too, Kaidoh."

Kaidoh looked down, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"Kaidoh-kun, I'm sure Inui-san wants to know how his son is doing…" Seisha was peeking around the corner of the door. "I'm going to go on my break now, please take care of Inui-san."

He nodded and waited for the woman to leave before he said anything. "Inui Naoki is your son…" His eyes looked up to Inui's before they were glancing at a pair of little girls playing house to his left.

"Yeah… I'm sure his mother is looking for him. I'm not sure where she is right now…" Inui petted Naoki's hair and kissed his forehead, only just catching the surprised look that crossed Kaidoh's face as he finished what he was saying.

—

Inui laid stretched out across the couch, Naoki laying on his chest with a bottle. The baby had been quiet since they left the hospital, having sensed his father's mood .

_"Inui-sempai, it said on Naoki's papers that his mo—your wife was killed in the crash… She was declared dead at the scene…"_

He took his glasses off and folded the arms back before hooking them to the collar of his shirt.

_"Oh… You don't… We were on our way to file for divorce…"_

Fingers found their way to the bridge of his nose, and he pinched, trying to hold back the flood of stress, grief, confusion that threatened to overwhelm him now that he was in the safety of their—his—apartment.

_Kaidoh nodded awkwardly. "I-I'm sorry for your loss."_

Naoki released the grip on his bottle, letting the empty cylinder fall off the couch to the floor.

_"Kaidoh, I think I'd like to take Naoki home now…"_

Inui absently reached down to right the bottle. His other hand stroked Naoki's back as the baby drifted off to sleep.

_"Of course, Inui-sempai. I'll have the pediatrician discharge Naoki immediately."_

Tears finally welled up in his eyes. "Aiko…"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay, guys! Here's chapter two! Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter. It was much appreciated! : )

Disclaimer: I have no exclusive rights to Prince of Tennis or anything associated with it, though I do own the full series… I also own Aiko and Naoki, as well as any other random fill-in characters who may be lurking about…

—

"Oi~! Kaidoh!"

"Kikumaru-sempai, I thought you and Oishi-sempai were opening today?"

The redhead shook his head back and forth, curls bouncing. "Nope, practice opens Monday. I just came to get the last of the stuff from my locker and Oishi's office. You're still more than welcome to come work for us, you know…" He looked at his dark-haired kouhai as he spun the lock on his locker.

"I know." Kaidoh pulled the paw-print covered bandana off of his head.

"Hey, Kaidoh, did you clock out yet?"

Kaidoh turned around to see another nurse at the door. "Yeah, did you need me for something?"

"Well, not exactly. Seisha-san just wanted to know if you were friends with that guy who came in from that car accident with the baby last week. He hasn't called back here or at his doctor's for a follow up, and she was worried… She thought maybe you would know how to get a hold of him?"

"Who?" Eiji tilted his head curiously.

"I-Inui-sempai."

"Inui came in and you didn't tell me?" Eiji shouted, latching onto Kaidoh's arm. "Kaidoh must hate me to not tell me something so important~!"

Kaidoh flushed awkwardly and looked at the male nurse waiting for an answer at the door. "T-tell her I'll try to get a hold of him."

"Will do." He nodded, looked at Eiji on Kaidoh's arm, and gave the pediatric nurse a sympathetic look, mouthing 'Good luck' as he left.

"Kikumaru-sempai, we haven't been scheduled at the same time at all since it happened…"

Eiji pouted up at him, but let go. "So what happened?"

"He was in a car crash—he was okay." He stopped the oncoming question in favor of his own. "Did you know Inui-sempai was married and had a son?"

Eiji looked upset by this news. He hadn't known.

"She died in the crash… Inui and Naoki were fine, bumped up a bit, but fine."

"Naoki's his son?"

Kaidoh nodded.

"Was he okay, I mean…" He pointed at his head.

"He just said 'Oh…' and asked to be discharged. I think he was in shock…"

"Someone needs to check on him…"

"I know…"

"I can't believe he never told us… How old was the kid?"

"Almost a year."

"Come help me get the stuff from Oishi's office… I think his address book is still up there, and I bet Inui's in it."

Kaidoh followed his sempai up to Oishi's office, where they found the little book easily enough and located Inui's address and phone number, which was now on the sticky note Kaidoh was staring at. He picked up his cell phone.

_"I'm sorry, the number you are trying to reach is not available at this time. Please try again later."_

"Shit…" Kaidoh hung up the phone and looked at the clock next to his bed. It was only nine… If he remembered correctly from their junior high days, Inui tended to stay up late more than get up early… He'd still be awake, right?

It was only a short bus ride to Inui's house, twenty minutes maybe… He wondered what the inside of the apartment looked like as he knocked on the door.

He heard scuffling on the other side and knocked again. "Inui-sempai?"

The door cracked open. "Kaidoh…"

They stared at each other for a moment before Inui muttered, "Come in," and opened the door wider.

Kaidoh toed off his shoes and handed Inui his coat when the doctor gestured for it. Glancing to his right, he saw two desks with a small table between them, which, from the looks of it, served as the household catch-all spot. Pictures littered the make-shift office's wall space, and notebooks and manila folders stuffed with papers blanketed the floor.

"So," Inui said evenly as he led Kaidoh past a closed door into an open kitchen and living room space, "to what do I owe this pleasure?" He motioned for Kaidoh to sit on the couch and immediately went to the kitchen, retrieving a tea kettle from the cupboard.

Kaidoh glanced around the kitchen as he answered. The sink was full of unwashed bottles and bowls caked in infant cereal. The formula mix was sitting at the ready on the counter. He didn't see any plates or take-out boxes suggesting Inui's eating habits. "Seisha-san, the nurse who was on duty when you came in, saw that you still hadn't come in for a follow-up today and asked if I could check in on you… We were worried too, of course, but—"

Inui, who had been filling the kettle with water from the faucet, twisted the water off and placed the silver vessel on the stove to boil. "We?"

"Kikumaru and I."

"Ah, well, please tell Seisha-san that even though I do not practice in a hospital every day, I am a licensed medical doctor and am perfectly capable of taking care of a mild concussion." Inui took a cup from one cabinet and fished through another. "You still like black tea, right?" He paused, hand in the process of fishing a tea bag from its container.

"Yeah…" Kaidoh looked away, eyes flicking over the bookshelf and the small television set perched in its entertainment center. His eyes came to rest finally on Naoki. Inui had spread out a baby blanket and lined the sides with pillows. The baby was sprawled out on his back in his pajamas. Puppies, Kaidoh thought the print might have been, though he couldn't quite tell.

"So, you and Kikumaru work together?" Inui set the tea cup in front of Kaidoh on the coffee table. Tucking his legs underneath himself, he sat on the floor opposite Kaidoh, effectively placing himself between the nurse and his son.

Kaidoh lifted the tea cup and sipped before answering. "Kikumaru is—was one of the head nurses in out pediatrics ward. He and Oishi just recently left. Their new private practice opens on Monday. Kikumaru just came in to get the last of their things today." He stopped, feeling like he was rambling.

"I see…"

"Inui-sempai, how are you doing?" The nurse put his cup on the table, looking at Inui. His hair was dull, dark circles were starting to appear just under the rims of his characteristic black-framed glasses, his blue flannel pajamas were rumpled from what could only have been several days of wear… combined with the fact that Kaidoh hadn't seen and signs of the older man eating properly, he was worried.

"I don't know what you mean, Kaidoh."

"Inui sempai, I can tell you're not taking care of yourself."

"Naoki is fine, and I'm—"

Kaidoh met him with a knowing look and a hiss of disapproval.

Inui swallowed thickly. "I'm handling things just fine, Kaidoh." He pushed up his glasses. "Thank you for your concern."

"Inui-sempai… Aiko-san wouldn't want this. If she cared about you, she would want you to be taking care of yourself…" Kaidoh said slowly, unsure of the reaction he would garner.

When Inui didn't respond he continued, "Have you slept at all? Eaten? Showered?" Inui had turned his head to look at Naoki sleeping peacefully in his pillow fortress. "I know you're taking good care of Naoki, but if you keep this up… He will notice, Inui-sempai."

"I know…" Inui said quietly, forcing the shaky words from his mouth.

He knew this was going down a very dangerous path. He'd seen many families grieving at the hospital—mothers coming in every day to see their child for weeks after they'd passed in hopes they'd be asleep in their hospital beds, fathers lashing out at the doctors or nurses who delivered the news to them, and spouses… He'd never really seen, since he worked almost exclusively in pediatrics, but there were stories.

Inui-sempai used to be his friend, was still his friend even if they had drifted apart. There had to be some reason they'd been brought together again…

Kaidoh hadn't realized he'd gotten up until he was dropping himself to the floor next to Inui. "You need to grieve, but _this _isn't the way to do it."

It was subtle, but the doctor's shoulders began to tremble. He bowed his head, and his hands came up, one removing his glasses, the other covering his face. The soft shaking grew to a jarring tremor as Inui sobbed.

Kaidoh let his hand rest over the hand Inui was attempting to crush his glasses with, rubbing his thumb against the edge of his palm soothingly. Eventually, the tears stopped and Inui took a few shaky breaths, scrubbing at his eyes. "Thank you, Kaidoh…"

"You should go shower and change. I'll watch Naoki for you." Kaidoh removed his hand as Inui returned his glasses to their rightful place, turning away as to not look at Inui's eyes, unsure if that particular quirk of the former tennis player's had followed him into adulthood.

"I couldn't ask you to do that." Inui shook his head.

"Inui-sempai, you took care of me all through junior high. Let me do this for you."

They stood together, Inui nodding. "Thank you, again…"

Kaidoh shrugged. "You'd do the same for me. Go shower."

Inui disappeared down the hall to the bathroom, leaving Kaidoh alone in the living room. He looked down at the sleeping baby and then to the kitchen. "Might as well do something productive."

He started with dishes, checking the dishwasher to find it void of everything, save two coffee cups in the top rack. Kaidoh looked disdainfully at the bowls half-full of crusted infant cereal, all that remained in the sink after the bottles had been cleaned. He hadn't seen dishes this caked with food since he and Momoshiro had shared an apartment in college. He filled them with water to soak before moving on to the rest of the kitchen.

Kaidoh spent several minutes trying to figure out where Naoki's food was supposed to be kept, deciding finally to just put it aside in case the child woke up. Cereal and formula powder were wiped up and the kettle refilled and put on low. Kaidoh looked through the cabinet Inui had pulled the teabag from earlier, finding a box of chamomile tea. He set that and a cup out for when Inui was finished with his shower.

The nurse thought for a moment about calling for takeout, but quickly decided that wouldn't be a good idea if Inui really hadn't eaten anything in the week since he'd left the hospital. He looked in the fridge and found it to be mostly health food. "Some things don't change." He decided on Miso soup, since it would be easy for Inui to eat without upsetting his stomach and didn't take long to make. As he finished whisking the dark paste into a pot of water, he heard a noise from the living room.

Naoki was wiggling in discomfort amongst the pillows and blankets surrounding him. Kaidoh picked him up carefully, immediately realizing what the problem was as he did. He shushed the fussy baby and looked around the room. "Now where do your mommy and daddy keep your diapers," he whispered to the little boy.

Kaidoh bypassed the bathroom, hearing the shower going from outside the door, and opened the door to his left, glad to find it was Naoki's. The nurse made quick work of changing the baby's soiled diaper, glad now more than ever he frequently worked with babies. Naoki kicked his legs when Kaidoh tried to snap his pajamas back on, laughing.

Kaidoh smiled and pinned the kicking appendages down, much to the boy's chagrin. "You," Kaidoh said, "are just like your dad. He used to love making things harder than they had to be for the team. I bet you make yucky juice when you get older too." He picked Naoki up, balancing him on his hip when he spied a basket full of dirty clothes and blankets. He looked over at the crib.

"I'm going to go put these in the washer, you stay right here." He set the baby down in his crib and picked up the basket. When the laundry was safely in the washer, he looked back at the little boy again from across the hall. "I guess I should check to see if your daddy has any laundry too, huh?" Kaidoh listened, checking that the shower was still on before heading towards the room he'd passed on his way in. Feeling extremely intrusive he opened the door slowly and flicked on the lights. He wasn't expecting to see what he did.

Photographs, at least a hundred, littered the bed. Kaidoh shook his head, looking away from the smiling young woman eternalized in each of the glossy pieces of paper to search for a laundry basket. He first found the clothes Inui had been wearing when he'd been checked into the hospital and scooped those up. The laundry basket, he found a moment later, only had a set of red flannel pajamas in it, ones that matched the blue ones Inui was currently wearing. He left it alone, knowing they were Aiko's.

He went to Inui's dresser—there was men's jewelry and a wallet on it—and pulled a fresh pair of night clothes from the second drawer.

He heard Naoki babbled in his crib as he walked back towards the laundry room. Kaidoh recognized "Dada" and "sad" in the mix, and felt a pang of worry in his chest. Naoki already knew, maybe not what exactly was wrong, but that something was, and that it was upsetting Inui. Kaidoh made a soft hiss and stopped at the bathroom door.

He quietly opened the door and set the clothes on the counter, picking up the blue flannel pajamas and leaving just as silently. The shower shut off when Kaidoh was measuring out detergent to add to the wash. He poured the cap-full of liquid in and turned the machine on, turning on his heel to retrieve Naoki from his crib.

When Inui came out of the bathroom, he found Kaidoh in the kitchen stirring a pot on the stove. Naoki pointed at him, saying "Dada." Kaidoh turned, seeing Inui. "Yep, that's your daddy." He assured the boy.

"I'll take him…" Inui reached out, smiling softly when Naoki extended his arms in return. "Thanks for doing all this. You didn't have to."

Kaidoh looked over his shoulder as he poured water into the glass he'd set out earlier. "No, but I didn't mind doing it." He handed Inui the cup and turned to get a bowl out of another cupboard.

"Kaidoh, I'm really not hungry right now…"

"You have to eat, Inui-sempai." Kaidoh gave him a stubborn look, knowing if he insisted Inui wouldn't put up a fight.

"Just… Let me make him a bottle and put him to bed, I'll eat afterwards."

Kaidoh's hand reached behind him to grab something Inui hadn't noticed before and brought it in front of his face. A bottle. Naoki reached for it and, once it was safely in his possession, laid his head on Inui's chest and sucked at it lazily. He looked between the two adults curiously.

"I'll… be back." Inui left the kitchen, walking down the hallway. Kaidoh heard the soft tonal lull of a one-sided conversation and the static noise of a baby monitor before the door shut.

Inui waved him into the living room over the counter, frowning when he saw the tea and soup bowl in Kaidoh's hands. There wasn't much to do in the way of protesting, though. His former kouhai was nothing if not tenacious.

"Do you want to talk about it?"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I like writing thiiiiis. I haven't written something like this by myself in forever and it's fun. And.. I hope you like it. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own. I make money tutoring small children, not writing fic.

—

Inui took a shuddering breath before he fell into the rambling tale of how he and Aiko had met. A few years ago he had testified against her client in court. That had been the first case she'd ever lost. However, the second time they met it was so he could testify on her client's behalf. He hadn't realized she was the same lawyer and was confused and irritated when she snapped at him, ignored him, and was generally unpleasant to be around for seemingly no reason. Even after she won the case she waved at him dismissively when he tried to congratulate her. He couldn't think of why she would have such an unfounded dislike for him.

But she did. Eventually, after Inui had researched her and— only for lack of a better word, he swore— stalked her for several weeks, she confronted him.

"Wait, you stalked your wife?" Kaidoh blinked incredulously. Maybe Inui hadn't changed that much since middle school.

"I did not _stalk_ her. I collected her data. I forgot that you would understand what I mean by that…" Inui gave him a small smile.

Kaidoh nodded. If "collecting data" was anything like he remembered it to be, it was just short of stalking.

"Anyway, I was sitting on the bench across from her office reading a newspaper, and when I looked up she was standing there. She was quite angry. Apparently I'm not as subtle now as I used to be."

Kaidoh had to bite back a laugh. Inui was many things, but subtle was hardly one of them.

"She asked me to lunch."

The nurse frowned curiously. "You stalked her, and she asked you to lunch?"

"Well when you say it like that— She is a lawyer. It was the logical thing to do— get to know her enemy, so to speak."

He nodded in understanding.

"So we went to lunch and things just—" Inui shrugged. "—went from there."

"What… was she like, Inui-sempai?"

"She was a beautiful person. Smart, practical, witty, stubborn… I loved her."

Kaidoh nodded, expecting that sort of answer. "I saw your pictures…" He looked up carefully. "You haven't slept much, have you?"

"I can't," the doctor explained.

"That's understandable, and I can't make you sleep. But," Kaidoh said with a gesture at the untouched soup bowl, "I can make you eat."

Inui picked up the bowl and slowly began to spoon the warm liquid into his mouth. "I haven't been able to sleep because of Naoki…"

"Has he been up?" Kaidoh frowned. The baby should have been sleeping through the night at his age.

"No, I just," Inui muttered, "I don't want anything to happen to him." He stirred the soup absent-mindedly.

"Inui-sempai, the chances of—"

"I know. It is completely irrational."

"You haven't really let him out of your sight since it happened, have you?"

"No." Inui snorted, pushing his glasses up. "I've hardly put him down."

Kaidoh nodded.

Inui glanced at his former kouhai, setting down his now empty bowl. "Is this where you send me off to bed and sneak out when I'm asleep?"

The nurse frowned up at the doctor. "No, this is where I send you off to bed and call Kikumaru-sempai to tell him to not worry anymore."

He was quiet for a moment. "Stay?" Kaidoh knew the expression beneath the glasses was hopeful.

He nodded once.

"Thank you."

—

"_Are you sure? One of us can always come over, if you'd rather."_

"It's fine, Kikumaru-sempai. I already told him I'd stay, and he's asleep. I'll be fine."

"_Well, if you're sure…"_

"I am. Thanks."

"_Hoi~! Bye, Kaidoh! Night!"_

"Goodnight…" Kaidoh shut his phone and set it on the coffee table in front of him. Inui had brought him a pillow and blanket that were now sitting on the end of the couch before he scuffed to his bedroom to remove the pictures from his bed.

If he listened closely, Kaidoh could hear Inui moving about, rolling over in bed. He hadn't really thought the older man would be able to sleep, but it was still good for him to try to get back to his normal routine.

He situated himself along the couch and turned the volume up on the baby monitor next to his pillow before he fell asleep.

Kaidoh habitually reached out for his phone when he woke up the next morning. Seeing it was early, he started to set his phone back down and roll over. Inui was curled up on the floor along the couch. The baby monitor was clutched tightly in his hand.

Kaidoh sat up, rubbing his face. Carefully stepping over the doctor, he moved from the room, peeking into Naoki's. The little boy was playing quietly in his crib, chewing on the antennae of the baby monitor.

He went back into the living room and knelt to shake Inui's shoulder. "Inui-sempai…"

Green eyes blinked open quickly. "Is Naoki okay?"

"He's fine, but you have to get off the floor." He helped Inui sit up.

"Can't I check on him?"

"I will. Go back to sleep," Kaidoh ordered.

Inui pulled himself onto the couch and snuggled into Kaidoh's spot, dozing off again.

Kaidoh pulled the blanket over Inui's shoulder and turned off the baby monitor, setting it next to Inui's glasses and his cell phone. He padded into Naoki's room and lifted him out of the crib.

"Hello, there." He gave a small smile, bouncing the little boy gently as he walked over to the changing table.

Naoki gurgled as he was laid down. He kicked his feet while Kaidoh pulled clean clothes and a diaper from the small dresser. "You wiggle too much." Kaidoh tickled the underside of the baby's foot after it hit his hand.

The baby squealed loudly, kicking faster.

"Shh," Kaidoh hissed softly. "I have to get you dressed, settle down." He made quick work of undoing the onesie and changing the child.

He toted the boy into the kitchen, shushing him softly when he started to say "Dada" and point to Inui.

"Your dad needs to sleep right now." He opened the cabinet where he'd found the baby's food and formula mix the night before.

After he got Naoki settled with a bottle and dry cereal in his high chair he picked up his cell phone again. Kikumaru had sent him a text.

_Is everything okay? Can we come over? I want to see the baby! ~Eiji ^_^ Nya~_

Kaidoh texted him back quickly. _No, he's sleeping. Maybe later._

The phone buzzed before he could even set it down.

_But Kaidoh~ ~Eiji ^_^ Nya~_

_Kikumaru-sempai, he hasn't really slept in days. Maybe later, h_e texted back.

_Kaidoh is so mean~! ~Eiji ^_^ Nya~_

Kaidoh set the phone down and glanced at the clock. Nine thirty. He ruffled Naoki's hair, making the baby look up at him curiously. In the next room, Inui was shifting on the couch.

"Kaidoh?"

"Over here."

"Naoki?"

"In here with me."

"Dada?" Naoki put his bottle down.

Inui pulled himself off the couch and scuffed into the kitchen, leaning down to kiss Naoki's forehead. "Hello." He lifted Naoki and hugged him gently. "He didn't wake you up last night, did he?"

Kaidoh shook his head. "He's great. How did you sleep?"

"Fitfully."

Kaidoh frowned a little. "Sorry to hear that…"

"I came out here after a while. I couldn't sleep there…" He turned his head a little towards his bedroom door.

"I saw…" His phone buzzed angrily from its spot on the counter. He snatched it to see a picture of Eiji flashing on the screen. "Um… Inui-sempai, would you mind if Kikumaru-sempai came over for a little bit?"

"Kikumaru…" Inui sighed. "I suppose there's no stopping it, is there?"

Kaidoh shook his head, replying to the text quickly. "I can make you something to eat…"

Inui looked at him. "I'll make something for myself," he said, resigned. "Do you need to take a shower or anything? I'm sorry for inconveniencing you…"

"I don't have work today, Inui-sempai. You're not inconveniencing anyone."

"It's your day off, though. I'm sure you had plans, a date, hanging out with friends…"

"Even if I did, this is more important." Kaidoh turned away, cheeks pinking lightly.

"Thank you."

"We've been over this… It's the least I can do."

"I—"

There was a loud knock on the door and a muffled, "Kaidoooooh! Lemme in~! Nyaaaa~!"

Kaidoh looked at his phone. There was no way he'd sent that text more than five minutes ago, and Oishi and Eiji lived at least twenty minutes away. He looked at Inui and went to the door, opening it and catching Eiji as he was about to start banging on the door again.

"Oi! Inui!" Eiji barely paused to tug off his shoes as he stomped towards the taller man. "How come you have to be so secretive! You could have told us yougot married and had a baby, you big dummy!" He pouted, moving into Inui's personal space.

Naoki started crying softly.

Inui took a step back, rocking Naoki gently. "Shh, Naoki. It's just a kitty cat. Hello to you too, Kikumaru."

"Nya?" Naoki whimpered.

"Yes, cat." Inui kissed the top of his head.

"Nyan~" Eiji meowed, softer this time. "Sorry I scared you, Nao-chan." He bent down a little, beneath Naoki's eye level, and smiled warmly. "Your daddy is just a big dummy face. He made us all worry about him, you know." He tapped the baby lightly on the nose as his tears disappeared.

"How did you get here so fast?" Kaidoh shut the door.

"I went to the coffee shop on the corner so I could be here super fast when you gave me the okay!" He winked and gave his kouhai a thumbs up.

Kaidoh blinked.

"Kaidoh should go home and get changed and take care of things at home for a while. I'll watch over Inui!" Eiji stepped over to him quickly, patting his shoulder.

"Are you sure?" Kaidoh looked up at Eiji. The redhead was nearly half a head taller than him and managed to maintain his childlike personality even though he'd matured into a handsome young man.

"Positive!" Eiji grinned. "I'll make sure Inui gets all the business stuff taken care of, and when you get back, he'll be all yours again!" He turned, the little ponytail at the back of his neck flicking Inui's nose with the man's quick spin. "Right, Inui?"

"I'm sure…" Inui deadpanned.

"We'll see you later, Kaidoh~!" Eiji pushed Kaidoh towards the door.

"Kikumaru-sempai, hold on!" Kaidoh's voice wavered as he stumbled over his feet and the redhead's shoes.

Eiji made a pouting noise and stopped shoving. "Fine."

Kaidoh slipped on his shoes and pulled on his coat. "I'll see you later, Inui-sempai."

"Goodbye, Kaidoh."

The door clicked shut behind him. He shivered as a gust of early winter wind whipped through the apartments. He knew Inui and Naoki would be okay while Kikumaru was there, and he planned on staying until he had to go back to work on Monday…. But what then?

—

A/N: Reviews…usually make me happy : )


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I meant to have this done a week ago over spring break and it just wouldn't cooperate. You get to meet three new characters here, so you were warned.

Warnings: OCs

Disclaimer: I own Aiko, Naoki, Junko, Kunikaya, Junyoshi, and anyone else you don't recognize. But that's it. Anyone you do is property of Konomi Takeshi, who we are all thankful is alive, yes?

—

When he got back to his small apartment, Kaidoh made a beeline for the bathroom. He needed to brush his teeth and shower. Half an hour later he plopped down into his desk chair, absently rubbing a towel over his wet hair while he turned on his computer.

His email exploded onto the screen the moment he logged in. "You have 26 new messages!" the bubble told him.

Clicking on it, he discovered they were all from one Momoshiro Takeshi.

_Hey, I know it's late, so I didn't want to call you, but if you're still up could you call me? I need someone to talk to._

_Hey, man. I could really use someone to talk to right now._

_Bro, what the hell? I know you don't have work tomorrow. No way you're asleep!_

_Kaiiiiiiiidoooooh! Ryoma's being a bitch and this bartender can't understand me well._

_I'm about to start my tenth beer. Call me later. Love you, man._

Kaidoh rolled his eyes and scrolled down to read the time stamp on the most recent one. Around nine his time, but Momo was in America, so four in the morning if the math he'd done in his head was correct.

It would be around four in the afternoon there now, he supposed, reaching to pull his phone from his jean pocket. It only took two rings for the phone to pick up.

"Momo's still sleeping." Ryoma's voice filtered through the speaker.

"Wake him up, Echizen."

"Whatever."

Ryoma shouted something and there was an annoyed retort of "Fuck off, he's not my girlfriend," before Momo grunted into the phone.

"What bit his ass?"

"He had to come pick me up at four thirty from a bar."

"It's his fault anyways."

"I know… Anyways, where were you last night?"

"Inui-sempai's."

He could practically hear Momo smirk.

"Finally tracked him down?"

"Shut up. He's…" Kaidoh wasn't sure Inui would want him to tell Momo about everything that happened.

"He's what?"

Well, Kikumaru knew, so it wasn't like he'd be the one with the blame… "His wife died, and no one had heard from him. He'd locked himself in his apartment with his son—"

"Wait! You're telling me he got married _and_ had a kid!"

"That's what I said, moron. Anyway, I went over to check on him last night and ended up crashing there."

"How'd it happen?"

"Car crash… never would have even known if Naoki—his son—hadn't ended up in pediatrics…"

"Oh man, was Eiji there?"

Kaidoh snorted. "That would have been interesting, but no. So what happened with Echizen that you needed to go drown yourself in a bottle?"

"Tried to talk to him about dating again…" It sounded like Momo had pulled a pillow over his head.

"You might as well have tried to get him to talk to his dad…"

—

"He's on the phone with his work, Naoki just finished a bottle, and I have a lunch date with Fujiko and Junko-kun. Bye~!" Kikumaru patted Naoki's head and then Kaidoh's before he waltzed out of Inui's apartment.

Kaidoh bounced the baby gently as he started towards Naoki's room to put him down for a nap. He glanced at Inui, who was still talking to his boss quietly. Inui looked back at him, staring. Red flooded Inui's cheeks and he spun around, asking the person on the other end to repeat what they'd just said.

He wondered absently if Inui was mad about something…

—

"Oi~! Fujiko!" Eiji waved his best friend over to their usual table. Fuji glided past the quaint cafe's hostess and between the tables to theirs in the back corner effortlessly.

They hugged and sat down, launching immediately into everything that had happened since this time last week—their last luncheon.

"But, yeah, the new office is going to open tomorrow, Oishi just has to organize _his _office, and he won't let me touch any of it." Eiji sighed. "You know how weird he is about those kinds of things some times. Anyways, where's Junko-kun, is she running late?"

Fuji nodded, setting down his tea. "Piano practice ran over again."

"Oh no… I hope Kaya-chan didn't get in trouble again…"

Fuji smiled. "She certainly is just like her father. They got lucky with Junyoshi."

"Don't jinx it, Fujiko~!"

And then a young woman entered the restaurant, a little girl walking alongside her with her arms crossed and a little boy being tugged along.

"Sorry we're late." She shrugged off her coat and knelt to help the little boy out of his own. "Someone very much dislikes being told she's doing things wrong." The little girl, who had plopped down in a chair, gave her mother an annoyed look and grabbed a menu, blocking her mother's displeased frown from view.

"Uncle Fuji, tell Mom she doesn't like being told _she's_ wrong either." She looked at the man to her right.

"Junko-chan, Kaya-chan says—"

"Fuji-kun…." She glared at him as she set the little boy in the chair next to his sister.

"Ne~ Don't shoot the messenger~!" Eiji laughed as she sat down between him and her son.

"Kaya-chan, what happened at piano practice today?" Eiji leaned forward curiously.

"Ono-sensei taught me a new song and I changed it because it sounded better and she yelled at me." The little girl shut the menu with a snap and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Right, Junyoshi?" She looked to her brother.

"Yeah, it sounded pretty when Kaya-nee did it." He smiled up at his sister.

Junko sighed and pulled a coloring book and crayons out of her bag, placating the children for the moment. "Fuji-kun, you wouldn't mind taking the kids back to _your _Mitsu would you? Mine wants me to meet him at the studio."

"Of course not." Fuji smiled. "Maybe we can go to the park with your dad?" He looked over at the kids.

"Yeah!" They both lit up.

"Cheater," Junko muttered.

"Bribery always works with children, Junko-chan." He smirked softly, waving the waitress over.

She pulled out her notepad and a pen as she stepped up to the table. "Ready to order, Fuji-san? Kikumaru-san? Tezuka-san?"

Half-way through their meal, after Junko had finished giving them an update on the kids, herself, and _her_ Mitsu, Eiji finally got his chance to talk.

"Wait, Eiji-kun, do you know her last name? Aiko-san's?" Junko looked up at him, a little confused.

Eiji thought for a minute. "I think it was Matsumoto?"

"I went to high school with her. We were on the debate team together…" She trailed off, frowning.

"Really?" Fuji and Eiji both leaned towards her a little. "What was she like?"

"Very smart, very temperamental, very quiet." She set her glass down. "I can't see her getting married and having a family, though…"

Fuji and Eiji glanced at each other. "Inui is a little like that too. Too smart for his own good, eccentric. Maybe that was what they needed…" Fuji smiled thoughtfully.

"And she was so damn stubborn."

"Most of the people Inui associated with in high school were," Fuji noted.

"Like you?" she snarked back.

Eiji sighed. "Right… But! Kaidoh went over last night—"

"Kaidoh?" Junko tilted her head slightly. "The awkward one?"

"Yes, let me finish, Junko-kun!" Eiji demanded. "Kaidoh went over last night and Inui was a complete mess—hadn't eaten much or slept since it happened. He hadn't called his work, or gone in for his follow up appointment. Kaidoh made him shower and eat and sleep last night, and straightened up a little. And then I came over and made him take care of work and Naoki's daycare and stuff like that."

"Mama, what will happen to the baby?" Junyoshi had apparently been listening intently and was tugging at his mother's sleeve worriedly.

"His dad will take care of him," his older sister answered. "Just like when we're not with Mom and Mr. Ashizuka, Dad and Uncle Fuji take care of us."

"But he only has a daddy now…" The little boy frowned in confusion.

"He—"

"Kunikaya…" Junko warned. "Junyoshi, his dad will take good care of him."

"Besides, Jun—" Eiji gestured excitedly. "—Kaidoh will take good care of both of them. He's a nurse, just like me. He knows what to do, so don't worry too much, okay?"

Junyoshi nodded. "Okay."

—

"Bye, Mama!"

"Bye, Mom!"

Fuji took each of the kids' hands as they parted ways outside the cafe.

"Do you guys want to get ice cream before or after we go to the park?"

"After, last time we did before Jun got sick."

"I did not!"

"So you didn't throw up on Mr. Ashizuka?"

"Now, now," Fuji hushed them.

"He did," Kunikaya protested.

Fuji smiled and bounced the little boy in his arms comfortingly. "It's not very nice to tease, Kaya-chan."

"I know."

"And, Jun, you shouldn't let your guard down, even if it's your sister." Fuji smiled and squeezed the four year-old's hand.

"You sound like Dad." Kunikaya rolled her eyes.

Fuji hummed. "Saa. I guess you're right."

"Uncle Fuji, when did you and Dad meet?"

"I must have told you this story a hundred times by now, Jun."

"But it's funny." Kunikaya tugged his hand. "Dad never lets people beat him at things unless he wants them to."

"I don't know about that." Fuji smiled, pulling out his keys as the walked up the front steps to a house.

"Kunimitsu?" Fuji called as he opened the door, kicking off his shoes and hanging up the three of their coats.

"Dad!"

"Daddy!"

The kids ran to greet Tezuka as he came down the stairs. "Syusuke? I thought Junko was bringing them back." He knelt to hug them.

"Surprise. She got a call from _her _Mitsu and asked me to bring them back for her."

Tezuka stood and kissed Fuji briefly.

"That's gross, Dad." Kunikaya grimaced, covering her little brother's eyes.

"We'll remember that when you start dating." Fuji patted her head and kissed Tezuka again. "C'mon, I promised we'd take them to the park and get ice cream afterwards."

"You spoil them."

"One of the three of us has to. Otherwise they'll turn out to be grumpy and sour, just like their Dad." Fuji smiled playfully, pulling away from Tezuka to scoop up Junyoshi, who was an almost exact replica of the former Seigaku captain. "Isn't that right, Jun? We don't want two stoic lady-killers running around Japan, huh?"

"Right!" he agreed. "And Kaya-nee would be like Mama, right?"

"Exactly." Fuji nodded.

"I would not! Mom dates too many boys. She should just stick to one like Dad and Uncle Fuji. I wouldn't be like her." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms.

Tezuka lifted her up. "Mom just hasn't found her Uncle Fuji yet, Kunikaya."

"I know, but I wish she'd hurry up! Kinda like Dad and getting ready for the park!" She smiled cutely, something Tezuka would never be sure if she'd picked up from Fuji or her mother, and squeezed his neck in a hug.

He half-smiled at his daughter's antics. "Let's get your coats back on."

—

A/N about my honorific choices: I chose to have Eiji call Junko "Junko-kun" because she's not the type of person who would appreciate being called "chan," but they know each other too well to use "san." Fuji calls her "Junko-chan" because they like to pick at each other. And… no one calls Eiji "Kikumaru" because… in my brain he doesn't like it. And that's that.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hello~ It's been almost a year! Yeesh! You guys gotta bully me into writing more! You can thank SeverusPotterSnape for this chapter. I hope it's not too discontinuous from where I left off (and gosh do I hope my writing style hasn't changed that much)... Enjoy!

Oh! Oh! I am looking for a new beta, so if any of you guys are interested in storyboarding with me on this (and editing for me, but I swear I do have a decent grasp on the English language)... I'd love to hear from you! (Because I start school tomorrow morning and this is entirely unbeta'd. Yipes.)

Disclaimer: Not I, said the cat

Today marked one month since Inui Aiko's death.

A month since the accident. Three weeks since the funeral. Two weeks since Inui started working again. One week since Naoki stopped asking for his mom.

And Kaidoh had been there the whole time.

He fell asleep to the sounds of Inui tossing in his bed a room over and woke up to him turning on the shower.

It hadn't taken them long to fall into a routine of sorts.

Kaidoh would get up, stretch, and fold the blanket and sheet, tucking them and his pillow alongside the couch until evening fell. Then he'd click off the baby monitor, slip into Inui's bedroom to change into his scrubs, and shuffle down the hall to Naoki's room, where the little boy would be playing quietly in his crib. Kaidoh would change his diaper and clothes and tote him into the kitchen to give him a sippy cup full of formula. Naoki would wait in his high chair while Kaidoh readied his diaper bag.

By that time Inui would be coming out of the bathroom. He would nod a greeting to Kaidoh and let the nurse push a mug of coffee into his hands before he went to get dressed. Kaidoh would take his coffee to the bathroom while he finished getting ready, leaving Inui to give Naoki the rest of his breakfast of dry cereal and banana slices.

They would meet in the kitchen, retire their cups to the sink and collect Naoki and his bag before moving to put on their jackets and shoes.

Rather than getting a new car immediately, Inui had put the money in a savings account, so the three of them would board the bus. Inui would get off first, to drop Naoki off at his day care and walk the remaining block and a half to his office. Kaidoh would ride another fifteen minutes to the hospital.

They would go about their days. Sometimes Kikumaru or Oishi or both would stop by to have lunch with one of them. Sometimes they would meet at a soba stand and enjoy lunch together, then they would return to work.

Kaidoh usually picked Naoki up in the evenings. He had changed his hours so he always got off before Inui. Together he and Naoki would pick up anything they needed for dinner and head back to the apartment to cook it. Naoki would point and babble at things, watching Kaidoh expectantly. Kaidoh would placate him with a sippy cup and affectionate smiles.

Inui would usually be home within the hour, quick to pull his son from the high chair and coddle him. They would talk about their days and Naoki, what was for dinner, and whether or not it was warm enough to take Naoki to the park later.

But today was a bit different. Today, rather than going home after picking Naoki up, Kaidoh had to go to the airport to pick up one Momoshiro Takeshi.

"Kaidoh!" Momo called, waving enthusiactically.

Kaidoh rolled his eyes. Momo certainly seemed happy for someone who had been "not kicked out" by his "not boyfriend." "C'mon, idiot, Inui's probably home already and Naoki doesn't like how noisy it is here," he said a bit more gruffly than might have been strictly necessary. He bounced Naoki gently. The baby had been hiding his face in Kaidoh's scarf since they had entered the crowded airport.

"Yeah, yeah. C'mere, you jerk!" He caught Kaidoh in a half-hug. "Sorry about all of this..."

Kaidoh pulled away slowly. "It's not a problem, Momoshiro." He nodded towards the baggage claim. "Go get your stuff..."

Momo ignored him and lowered himself to Naoki's eye level. "Hey there!" he cooed. "I'm your kind-of Uncle Momo!" He looked at Kaidoh. "Can I hold him?"

"After you get your suitcase."

"You're still not any fun."

"Fushuu."

They both laughed, knowing Kaidoh only hissed at him when they were falling back into their old friendly routine. Momo collected his bags, trading them for Naoki once they were on the bus, and they made their way back to Inui's apartment.

"So what happened with Echizen?" Kaidoh asked as they were getting off the bus. They'd spent the ride on the safer subjects of Naoki and Inui, but he wasn't sure Momo would feel comfortable talking about their apparent fight around Inui after not seeing him for so many years, and he really didn't want to wait until they went back to Kaidoh's apartment for the night to get the story out of him.

Momo shrugged. "The same stuff that always happens. I try to talk to him about dating and he freaks out and then we fight and... yeah." His shoulders slumped a bit and he sighed. "I'm just tired."

Kaidoh bounced Naoki gently when the baby started squirming as they approached Inui's door. "You can always come back here..."

"And do what?" The slight laugh in the question was short and bitter.

Before he could stop himself, Kaidoh's hand was delivering a sharp smack to the back of Momo's head.

"What was that for!"

"For being an idiot!"

"I see your relationship is much unchanged." Inui opened the door. He took Naoki and gestured them inside. "It's good to see you, Momoshiro."

"Good to see you too, Inui-sempai!" Momo grinned, clapping Inui on the shoulder. "Thanks for having me over. Now, what's this about you disappearing off the face of the earth and having a kid?"

Over their Chinese takeout Inui recanted the story of how he had met Aiko and the three years they had been together. The conversation moved comfortably to conversations about Oishi and Eiji's new family doctor's office, how Taka-san was doing at Kawamura Sushi, Tezuka's sham marriage to Junko and true relationship with Fuji, the two Tezuka children, and how things were going at the hospital for Kaidoh.

As they finished dinner and moved to the living room, the conversation shifted to Ryoma.

"He's been doing really well in the American and European circuits for the past few years. He had to get another publicist for when he's over there though. For some reason they have a really had time understanding my accent..." Momo rubbed at his neck sheepishly as he settled into the couch .

"He was jealous for the longest time." Kaidoh half-smirked, glancing at his best friend.

"Oh shut up. You were jealous when I first started working for him."

Kaidoh glared and chucked one of the throw pillows on the couch at Momo's head.

Inui looked between them and then at Naoki whose head was resting on his shoulder. "I'm going to go lay him down. Excuse me."

"Hey, don't give me that look. You started it." Momo grumbled when he caught sight of the annoyed look Kaidoh was giving him.

Kaidoh stayed quiet.

Inui came back, stiffling a yawn.

"I guess it's time we head out then, huh?" Momo hopped up.

Inui shook his head. "You don't have to leave quite yet."

"Nah, I'm kind of tired from the flight and the time change and all that."

"Ah." Inui nodded. "I'll see you again before you leave then?"

"Yeah, Tezuka's dinner party is the evening before we're supposed to leave, so definitely."

They headed towards the door and Kaidoh and Momo put their coats and shoes back on and said their goodbyes.

Kaidoh hung in the doorway for a minute, letting Momo get a head start. "You're sure you're okay with this?" he asked.

"I promise, Kaidoh. If I need anything, you will be the first person I call." Inui smiled indulgently.

Kaidoh looked unsure.

"I'll be fine." Inui settled a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. "Besides, it's not like I can expect you to stay here all the time."

He gave a small nod and looked at Inui sternly. "Promise you'll call?"

Inui laughed. "I promise. I'll see you in a few days." He leaned forward and kissed Kaidoh's forehead.

When he pulled back Kaidoh's eyes were wide.

"I-"

"Oi! Are you coming or not?" Momo was walking back towards the doorway.

Kaidoh tore his attention away from Inui to look at Momo. "Yeah, hold on." He looked back at Inui, nervous. "I'll talk to you tomorrow." He met Momo at the end of the short walkway to the door where they both waved.

Inui waved back, just as tense as Kaidoh was.

–

"What the hell was that?" Momo asked, tossing his bag onto Kaidoh's futon.

"What?"

"He kissed you."

Kaidoh flushed. He had been hoping by some miracle that Momo hadn't seen that. "I don't know."

"Bullshit!"

"I really don't!" Kaidoh insisted. "He's never done that before..." He thre his jacket down next to his computer desk and padded over to the fridge, pulling two beers from inside.

Momo caught the one tossed to him, setting it down for a moment so it wouldn't explode on him. "Swear?"

"Yes!" Kaidoh glared.

"Hm..."

Kaidoh rolled his eyes. "What?"

"Nah. Nothing. I believe you." Momo grinned to himself and opened the can with a loud crack.

"You believe me...and?" Kaidoh frowned. There was more to what Momo was thinking.

"If he had done it before you would have called me freaking out."

"I would not!"

"What do I wear!" Momo shouted.

"Shut! Up!"

Momo squawked when Kaidoh tackled him down onto the futon.

"God, you still can't take a joke!" Momo had Kaidoh pinned instead after a few moments of the tussling.

"And you're still a jerk." Kaidoh groused, half-hearted.

Momo shrugged. "Yeah."

Kaidoh frowned at that. "Hey, I didn't mean it like that..."

"I know." His grip on Kaidoh's arms loosened and he sat back, leaning against Kaidoh's thighs behind him.

"Seriously-" Kaidoh pushed himself up on his elbows, genuinely worried "- are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah." Momo pushed Kaidoh back onto the futon and settled down on top of him, pillowing his head on Kaidoh's shoulder.

"Yeah?"

Momo poked Kaidoh's side sharply and made an unhappy noise. "Sh..."

"Are you going to sleep on top of me?"

Momo nodded.

"Asshole."

Momo nodded again.

"Night..."

"G'night."

A/N: Whoops. I MomoKai'd... I actually really hate that ship... As always, reviews, criticism, offers to be my Incipient buddy... All good. :D


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